DmC2 New World Order
by Greg-sterLordErotico
Summary: [ATTENTION: This fanfiction is currently facing a long hiatus as its writers are still working out various projects that are both related and non-related with this one. Please be patient and we thank you for your comments and support.]
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Planting the Seeds**

They are inside a tall, labyrinthine chasm, comparable to old medieval castles; the sun down's light (is it even sunlight?) that passes through its tall, glassless windows barely illuminate the old brick, wood and iron architecture of the chasm. The chasm is full of books, stacked neatly and untouched inside tall bookshelves that reaches almost the ceiling. In fact, the chasm's dark brick walls are covered by these shelves, making these shelves its walls, it seems. And yet, the scent of paper and books that should have been damaged by time should fill the air, but there is none, nothing to smell but the old metallic staircase they are descending. But there is something to hear; and in the deathly silence of each floor level of bookshelves upon bookshelves and ladders leading to more bookshelves, hallways leading to a different section of the chasm, the sound of murmuring emanates from these places, muttering a language only someone who knew it would know and understand their urgent messages—if someone listens close enough.

The chasm's staircase may lead anyone to this old library, but the largest and its most intricately-designed staircase leads down to a special room, hidden from oblivious, uneducated eyes for centuries, millenniums even. This room is the end goal and it will open—it _should _open, after all the years of searching and learning all about it.

Mary could only walk behind her father as she tried to calm herself, tried to look composed and fearless, but the truth is, her father, and his companion walking right behind her and _this very place _is going to be the very death of her, she just knew it. Who would've thought, she mused, that this strange place is underneath the university she's enrolled in?

Landing at the very bottom of the this chasm—this old library or whatever this whole place should be and has kept—the three are beholden by a pair of large double doors, its height a good thirteen feet above their heads. It is made of wood and the intricate, Renaissance-like design that shows the craftsman's work to be enticing. At closer scrutiny, Mary could see that it holds a story of sorts; some words are also carved into the wood, above the other carved images at the center part of the door.

Her father steps closer to the doors and brandishes his left hand from left to right, as if touching an invisible incantation on its wooden surface.

"I can feel it," he mutters in his monotone, grave voice. "The tome you found was very precise! And all is left is to give it a small amount of payment to gain entrance…"

Mary could feel the chill grow at the back of her head and it spreads down to her very fingertips, down to her legs and feet, as if she is frozen to the very spot she stands on. Her head is slightly bowed now, not anymore interested at looking at the door or anything her father and his companion is doing.

She just _couldn't _bear it…

She feels her father's companion brush past her, the shoulder of her sheer green blouse almost touching the muscled arm of the man walking beside her father and to study the door.

"We are prepared, Jonathan," the man states and languidly gives her father a thick tome, its engravings on its cover similar to the doors. "The vial of blood samples you have with you would be good enough before I use mine."

The sound of a blade unsheathing is loud in this place that, when its sharp edge whips through the air, Mary could've sworn the murmurs above them have grown much louder. Her palms become colder and sweatier. Are they going to cut through her skin again?

The man turns to her and smiles, but it is a very cold and arrogant one. Her despise to him seemed to heighten and she clenches her hands into a fist.

"Don't worry," he says to her in that cool voice full of subtle malice. "Your blood in your father's vials is good enough. You had been very generous and we are grateful."

If she could only punch him—and that is a _big if_—she would enjoy the pain her fist would deliver at his pretty boy face. She remains silent, opting to be safe; but she cannot help but glare at him for a second and then roll them away in disgust, her lips set in a hard line.

He merely chuckles in amusement and turns to her father again, who opens the tome and flips the page to a certain chapter. When he finds it, he begins to speak an incantation; his voice chants the foreign words on the pages while he slowly procures one vial from his coat pockets, carefully opens it and spills the ounce of blood unto the surface of the door. As he continues to chant, the murmurs above them become stronger, its volume heightening. Her father repeats the process of chanting and spraying the contents of the vials in his coat until he brandishes one last vial and spills the blood on the door, as if blessing it the way holy water is on the ones who pray.

Mary gasps; the carvings on the door begin to move and its 'wooden' surface glistens with the blood her father has offered it—the doors looks like _they are made of flesh!_

The characters on the door move aggressively and violently; each character is doing some form of violence to one another or to itself—some appear to fight with swords while others mutilate and tear each other apart! The sound of their 'flesh' is very prominent and Mary feels sick!

The man who had unsheathed his blade pressed it against his right palm and, with one quick swipe, slashes a clean gash on his skin!

Walking closer to the door, he wipes his bloodied hand on its surface, feeding the violent creatures that are engraved on its doors.

"Let him out," the man murmurs vehemently. "For I am Nephilim!"

When those words escaped his lips, the chasm began to rumble and the murmuring voices around them and on the door suddenly screamed! It is very deafening, as if the inhuman voices themselves are right beside Mary, screaming at her! She covers her ears, but it no use; the screaming pierces through her head, creating the sound of ear-splitting deafness! She fears the screams have shattered her eardrums, its high-pitched wavelengths threatening to pass her out!

She stumbles down to her knees as the screams continue and the earthquake crumbles the walls, the books falling from their places. She looks up and sees the double doors pulsate, crumble and darken, resembling an infected internal organ; dark veins appear where the man touches its surface and then it bursts upwards, cracking the walls, and an opening is revealed! The earthquake immediately stops and the voices cease or perhaps, she could not hear properly anymore…

Inside this room—this dark, fleshy room, full of pumping veins, arteries, dripping blood (perhaps the blood her father and his companion offered) and cords that resemble umbilical cords—is a…being of sorts. This being is connected with the fleshy cords that surround the room, looking like it is being sustained; even so, the being appears half-dead and pale, its bald head hanging by his shoulders back and forth, ready to fall off if it would. Mary suspects it could've been dead prior to there arrival.

Then, its croaky voice, long been asleep and imprisoned for centuries, it speaks: "Nephilim?"

"I am," the man says rather proudly. "I release you from this life-long sentence but for a useful reason. You will help us in our endeavors."

To her horror, the being lifts its head to them but seems to only see the man—this Nephilim. It looked like a corpse when it is still in its early decomposing stages, its skin slightly torn to reveal unnourished innards. It speaks again, "I suppose it is fair, as I have only been fed with all the things the prophets and other intellectuals have written in this humble abode, over and over _and over _again… I do want to share what I am forced to know here to keep me from escaping. I accept it."

The man is pleased and he smiles curtly. "Thank you. I and my associate have a lot of questions for you."

Mary's father bows at the being in respect after being mentioned.

"But to begin," the man says and his curt tone changes back into that cooler, more serious tone of his, "and most importantly, I would want to know where I would find my father's sword."

The prisoner's face lifts up much more, looking intrigued; and then it smiles (or at least, as it tries to). "So you are _their _Nephilim?"

Mary could not breathe anymore; she knows their plans are now coming to fruition and she has let them.


	2. Chapter 1: Still Defiant

**Gregster here! This is going to be my first loooooong fanfiction and I'm also collaborating with my friend, The Bees tales on this! Wohhoooo!**

**Okay, more explanations below, so enjoy this new chapter first...**

**Chapter One: Still Defiant**

The mixture of technical sound-checks, the chatter and obsessive cheers of the audience, and the warnings of bouncers to keep everyone from doing stupid stuff inside the crowded concert hall of _The Music Palace_ pumps his adrenaline rush even further, despite being on-stage for more than two hours already. But it's satisfying; heck, it's probably giving him more energy, more motivation, more confident and it made him feel victorious than he had felt when he would win brawls when he was younger…when he was not wanted…

But now—at least, with a drive to share his passion, his message and, most importantly, a hopefulness that they, too, can defy odds—he is adored!

"WE LOVE YOU!" A group of fangirls scream and they continue to screech uninhibitedly amongst the crowds, spurring more to yell and scream their adoration, their desire to listen and to be there! He feels the icy-cool touch of the power rush over to top of his head, then spreading downwards to his neck and back; he could feel his muscles relax and the veins on the back of his hand move in satisfaction, and he flexes his fingers as a spark lights up from each tip. His own heartbeat pumps faster, a feeling he once associated when he would fight or when he spends his time on women… but these beats are much different, much more prominent; if someone was only a feet away from him, they could've heard his own heart beating with excitement!

But his eyes are the most different, as the power of their admiring chants and screams is absorbed in his body. His eyes are clearer, much bluer than before and he could see the energy float and linger around them all—he could see his own, a glimmering ruby red that radiates from his naked torso.

_God, it feels good!_

The audience still continue their uninhibited noises and voices of chatter coalesce with the yells of the fangirls who are unabashed by their compliments to the band—or to the lead singer.

_Well, can't keep the fans waiting!_

"Dante!" Kat whispers urgently, motioning for him to come back backstage. Sometimes, he can't help but be hypnotized by the feeling of being on that stage and just be with the crowd…

He trots back to her. "What's up?"

Kat looks up at him, her eyes wide and serious, as if she could see—well, she _really could _see—what he was feeling and thinking. "Don't go too crazy out there. Remember, just relax. You've practiced controlling it."

Dante snorts at her and waves a hand nonchalantly. "I'm fine, I know what I'm doing. I've been up there for _more than two hours _already. Besides, I think when I sing, I could see some of it going to the audience and _just…_make them happier, you know? Floating natural LSDs from my body…or my body odor… I hope not…"

Kat shakes her head; she's still unconvinced and very concerned. "Don't joke about this. Oh, and make sure when you hit the chorus, don't exhaust your voice, just get some more from your diaphragm to hit the high notes, okay?"

Dante nods and rolls his eyes. Sometimes, repeating the things he's practiced before gets on his nerves. What's to worry? The concert's already a smash hit.

Kat smiles and suddenly whips out some fluorescent body oil (Kat's own concoction) from a professional cosmetic bag she carries. "And slather some more of this. We want you to _glisten _at the guitar solo."

"You're the boss," Dante agrees and grabs the container from her. Opening it, he hesitates before pouring it out from his palm. "It doesn't have squirrel semen, does it?"

Kat ignores his joke and calls some of the crew to help him. "I think he needs to retouch the makeup…"

Most of the crew Kat called to assist are females and gay, who _adore _him as much as the fangirls do outside; it was fine for him, though. The more, the merrier, right?

"I think he needs some on his back," one of them says suggestively.

He merely smirks in amusement and lets the crew do 'their job' on him.

"Gloria," Kat calls another person, this time someone right _under _Kat's orders and has just as much authority. "Can you please have someone add more face makeup for him? Just retouch it?"

A petite woman with a bob blonde hair and a corporate baby-dress comes up to Kat; she's holding her tablet like any corporate assistant would be. "Oh, I'll go get his makeup. I'll do it, the others are already busy with the pianist."

Going back to a dressing room and returning with a cosmetic palette, the small young woman comes towards Dante. He smiles seductively at her as she approaches him; Kat nudges him on his ribs, a sly warning sign. "Behave…"

Dante's smile widens and retorts back. "Don't worry, at least I don't have body paint on my favorite sweater."

Kat gapes at him and realizes the elbow of her sweater is covered in body oil and cosmetic body paint after nudging him. Kat groans and says, "whatever" and lets the crew and the assistant do their job.

"Hey," Dante purrs playfully at Gloria, who concentrates on mixing the makeup brush on the palette. "You know, uh, you haven't had a break since the last time I saw you."

Gloria begins to put makeup on him, unfettered by his flirting, her face straight and focused; Dante continues despite this. "Maybe I can get you some coffee later?"

Gloria simply shakes her head politely and says, in a soft voice, "No, thank you. I'll be busy."

One of the gay crew snorts, but neither Dante nor Gloria paid it any attention. "You sure? Did the earthquake still bother you?" He asks, genuinely concerned. Kat had been telling him Gloria keeps going to the hospital where a friend of hers—a priest and a professor in the university, where the earthquake began—is recovering. Kat and a few of their friends visited with her, but Dante's 'schedule' has kept him for going with them.

Gloria glances at his face and stops for a moment. "Yes. I have to see him again."

She continues to apply his makeup and his face softens. "You, uh, want me to come with you next time?"

Some of the crew who were still putting body oil and cosmetics on him audibly gasp; whether it was out of pleasant surprise (who are rooting for them) or envious shock (who aren't rooting for them), Dante didn't bother to look at them. His eyes and concern are on hers, on Gloria.

She continues to apply his makeup, though a subtle change of expression is evident on her face and she sniffles. Dante purses his lips and begins to touch her psychically, with his energy, hoping it would soothe her and make her feel that he _is _being sincere.

Hesitantly, he lifts his hand to touch her arm, but she finishes his makeup just in time and moves her arm away to cover the makeup palette she brought with her. "There," she says and tries to smile. "All done."

"Thanks," Dante says to her and the crew, who are slowly walking away and giving him one last look before they giggle and gossip away. Gloria was much slower than she anticipated and was rooted to her spot as a lights technician interrogated her there, asking about the next script for the stage light cues.

"Oh, uhm, I have the script here, a soft copy," Gloria fiddles with the tablet in one arm and the makeup palette in the other; Dante reaches out to get the palette off her arms for her to answer the technician. "Here, I got it."

Gloria looks up to him to word a 'thank you' to him and converses with the technician.

"Thanks, I'll get the copy on the computer above," he says appreciatively and turns to Dante to give him an encouraging pat on his shoulder. "You go get them, okay?"

"Will do." Dante says and the technician leaves.

Gloria inhales deeply and asks him for the palette. Dante tries again, tilting his head in one side and going for an 'innocent and friendly' look, something he sometimes practices in the mirror…

"So, my offers still up. I'll try to…'cancel' some of the things I'm doing, so I could come with you."

Gloria glances down at her shoes, and then takes a peak up at him, her long dark eyelashes curtaining her wide, demure blue-green eyes; her pouting lips slightly open as if to respond, but purses instead and Dante is entranced at her modest, timid and feminine reaction…

Suddenly, Kat approaches them, her hands cupping the headpiece around her head as she listens to the camera man who is preparing to shoot the next performance in two minutes.

"Dante, two minutes," Kat says urgently, "then the lights will come on and you go!" Kat's eyes linger on them both before walking away in a hurry.

"Cool," he simply says and turns away from Gloria. He creaks his neck and grabs his bottle of water to rehydrate his throat; then, on stage, the lights slowly light up, cuing him to go in.

"Dante," came Gloria's soft voice; he turns to face her quickly, hopeful. "I'd love to."

Dante's lips slowly form into a smile and he says, "We'll talk later."

Gloria nods and he goes up the stairs to take his place on stage.

"He'll come," came Kat's voice from behind her, surprising her.

Gloria stiffens, trying to act composed. "Oh… well, I don't want to force him."

Kat bits her lower lip then wraps an arm around her young friend. "You know, I gotta say, no one's ever refused Dante and makes him chase someone this badly."

Gloria blinks at this statement. "I—I'm just being professional. I don't want anything to complicate matters and I'm not even his type."

Kat grins and shrugs. "You never know."

"What about you?" Gloria asks curiously and looks up at her. "You used to go out with him."

Kat shrugs her shoulders again and her smile widens. "And I'm glad not to again. We definitely understood we're more like siblings, actually. And I'm in charge."

Gloria laughs at this.

"Come on," Kat pulls her further backstage. "We need to watch him and see live feed."

As he steps on stage, the crowd cheers wilder than ever! The still-dimly lit stage, its color a dull orange, illuminates his oiled, bare torso, a body of a youthful and well-toned male—or in his case, of a rock star. The fluorescent makeup on his face and body resemble that of a glowing skull creature, with glowing 'tattoos' of miniature skull bones, curse words, graffiti-like scrawls and, in the middle of his muscular chest, the symbol of Sparda—of a sword flanked by wings and topped with a halo.

He grabs his headpiece and his electric guitar, sitting on top of a sound system.

"Hey." He simply says to the crowd, and they cheer louder! He stretches his arms wide and up in the air to pose; he smiles warmly and the fangirls yell their admiration and love above the incomprehensible screams of delight.

"So _who's ready to be defiant?!" _He asks the crowd and they answer in a deafening "WE DO!", followed by more screams of appreciation.

The drummer tests the instrument and begins to tap the drumsticks together in an upbeat rhythm. The cue lights begin their formation and the theatrical smoke creeps in.

"This last song is meant to be remembered," he speaks through his headpiece's microphone. "This song shows what we can do, what we can achieve! This song _is going to rock the shit out of those who thought less of us!"_

The cheers become more sporadic and the audience begins to light their own glowsticks up in the air, waving them in the darkness of the concert hall.

"_This song is gonna teach us to be DEFIANT!"_

The crowd is wild as the rock music begins and all he could feel was the magic: the power inside of him coming out in the form of the sound waves, and the lyrics of the song he sings and the powerful response of the adoring audience; everything fills his being but also comes out to touch and synchronize with others who watch and listen to him…

_"THE END IS NIGH, THEY SAY! A BEGINNING FOR US TO FIGHT!"_

* * *

><p>Gloria had managed to excuse herself away from the crew, quickly closes the door of an empty dressing room and leans her back to it, sighing a breath of relief.<p>

Suddenly her smart phone buzzes inside her dress pocket; she whips it out and puts it to her ear.

"Enjoy the show?" Came the voice of a woman, her voice insidious.

Gloria's mouth twitches in annoyance. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

The woman from the other end of the line laughs. "Of course, we are. My son's actually become quite fond of the band."

"I hope you're not pushing your son to do too much of your dirty work." Gloria retorts. "After all, he's the only one keeping you alive."

"You're right," she quips, "my son is very special and he has been quite a model person, especially since his father's death."

Gloria balls her hand into a fist as she listens to her and a cry of a baby somewhere in the background.

"He really loves his father," the woman continues. "Every little thing that we do, he does this in the name of his father. Love _has _no boundaries, after all…"

"Just save it," Gloria says, tired of her being cryptic. "I know you want me to look for the Piece. But care to explain where?"

She laughs again. "Oh, I _love _how motivated you are! But first, I shall send a distraction for you to make sure no one becomes suspicious of what you are doing."

The noise of screaming and chanting fans suddenly became much louder; the combined noise, along with the boom of a microphone and the lead singer's voice thanking the audience for their admiration and support, slightly vibrated around the room. Amidst the noise of deafening applause, the chill that erupts at the base of Gloria's spine is strong. She could feel something has _changed…_

"Now, you don't have to worry the details of how I got some people inside the building," She coos in a sing-song voice. "Just get to the basement. It leads to a very old sewage system, actually. There's someone there waiting for you. He's found the Piece, but of course, it's highly guarded. Someone like _you _would handle that, won't you?"

Gloria closes her eyes for a moment and sighs exasperatedly. "The path of vengeance is difficult. And I am walking it for you."

"Yes, you are my dear," the woman murmurs sweetly to her. "But are you sure you are not doing the same thing? Isn't this why we work together?"

Gloria doesn't answer her question but instead hangs up the phone, exhaling a shaky breath. She leans against the door and closes her eyes to will herself to calm down…

The sound of someone pounding against the very door she leans shocks her and she jumps away immediately. Realizing she had at least locked the door, she sighs a breath of relief for a moment before asking who is outside the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me! It's me, Gloria!" a child's voice echoes outside. "Nero!"

Gathering herself and readying a smile, Gloria opens the door and welcomes the small boy in. "Hi."

Nero ruffles his white blonde hair and blushes. "Kat wants you! She told me to get you, Gloria."

Smiling warmly, she hefts Nero into her arms and cuddles him. "Okay, let's go."

As they leave the dressing room, Nero whispers to her. "Gloria, can you keep a secret?"

"Mm-hm, sure," she says.

"Someday…" Nero whispers as they finally approach Kat and the other crew members who are watching the concert live from multiple screens.

Kat turns and smiles. "There you are! Good job, Nero!"

Nero hides his face against Gloria's blonde hair and laughs, proud of himself. Then he continues to whisper to her. "Someday, I'm gonna be just like him!" Then he points at one of the monitors that focus on Dante's close-up as he sings, his exaggerated red Mohawk wig swaying slightly at the snap of his upbeat movement.

Gloria could not help but look at Nero with the warmest, simpering smile she could give him as she tried to hold her tears back. "Oh Nero… that's good dream."

Nero hugs her as tightly as his small arms could allow; Gloria's eyes fall upon one of the monitors Nero had pointed before and closes her eyes as her guilt kicks in.

_"STILL DEFIANT, STILL FIGHTING TILL AFTER THE END!" _Dante sings the chorus and begins his climactic guitar solo and the explosion of the pyrotechnics on the stage clash with the wilder applause of the audience.

**hello, hope you enjoy the reboot fanfiction so far, hehehe. This is still barely at the very core of the plot, but you can already see the twists that are coming soon. Oh, and if you boys and girls have a tumblr and you know The Bees Tales has a tumblr, then you'd KNOW that her tumblr blog is dedicated to an OC that's about to show up soon here in this fanfic. So sit back, enjoy the show and LET'S BE DEFIANT!**

**P.s. we're taking a break from the AC3 series, though we ain't forgetting the fanfics we're still writng. Hope you'd be patient and all that and just enjoy this for a while.**


	3. Chapter 2: Sensational

**Hello, yes! finally, is okay and I am able to post here my chapter update, yes!**

**Now, without any more blabber, let's get on with the show!**

**Chapter Two: Sensational**

Dante and his guitarist partner strum their electric guitars to harmonize with the drummer's last beats, concluding their last song with a bang. Dante bites his lower lip and dramatically swings his arm as he finishes the chord, triggering a wild thundering applause from the crowd.

"Thank you!" He says to them, then gestures his arm towards his band mates, who bow and thank the crowd in turn. The stage lights are all focused on the band as they all took the center of the stage to bow to the crowd in unison. "Wow," Dante murmurs on the head microphone, his eyes wide and happy. "Didn't know the cult following is this good."

The crowd cheers wilder and some clap enthusiastically in approval. Dante speaks again, "But this wouldn't have been possible without our friends and the crew backstage and up on the lights system!" He turns around and gestures for the crew backstage to come out. One of the cameras zoom for a mid body shot of him, then cuts to Kat coming up from a set of stairs and out behind the curtain; she waves her hand and smiles, and she is quickly followed by the other crew and some security guards. Dante, the band, Kat and more people from backstage come up front to the center of the stage to wave and thank the audience; the merchandise handler of the crew begins throwing out free t-shirts and bottled water.

The camera pans out to see a wider shot of the audience, from the front-row seats to the top-levels of The Music Palace; all seem to be normal. "Turn the camera on that's at the center," Liam instructs the camera operator. "That should be live, keep our viewers distracted. Cameras fifty-six, seven and eight, cut off their live feed, but keep them on. I want to see if something comes up." The operating agent complies, though she couldn't help but feel that this uptight security agent is a bit too…over-protective. Not to mention, a little bossy… Liam Drake is the head of their security personnel and he's as much fun as the next accidental electrocution with an appliance plug—if someone rubs him the wrong way, things go downhill for that poor fellow.

He radios someone on the security room, his eyes switching to each screen, scrutinizing everything he sees. "Anything bad?"

The security on the other line responds: "Negative, sir. Just the usual ruckus on the very top row. The concert's done, sir, so they'll be clearing soon."

"That's just as serious," Liam answers. "Just keep your eyes peeled."

"Yes, sir." The whole concert hall is now slowly becoming brighter as each light is opened and the stage lights are dimmed to signal that the concert is done. The bouncers are now ushering the fans to turn right to go to the stairs towards any nearby exit. The safety lights near the doors of all the exits light up; the exits become crowded and the security cameras above the door frames work doubly to peer at each individual and movement. The bouncers stationed near these doors keep warning the exiting crowd not to push or hurry.

There are some, however, who are very persistent to get up-close with the band and crew, and stay behind a little longer to greet them. The cameras nearer the stage are still live and are recording everything as part of the background of the credits roll.

"Shit, it's Daemon!" Squeals one fan to her group of friends and they squeal and jump in delight; Dante hops off the stage and, still fresh and topless from his performance, swaggers towards them. "Ladies, hey!" He greets them with his sinful smile and they brandish their autograph books and merchandise shirts to him The group of girls all scream in delight and are hopping madly in front of him; two of them managed to embrace him and proudly taking the cosmetic body paint on his bare torso as their souvenir.

Two bouncers near them as more of the crowd suddenly turned around to go back to greet the lead singer and guitarist.

"Oooh, can we get some pictures with you and the whole band, please?"

Dante smiles and beckons the band over, who are also being swamped with fans; four more bouncers have to come closer in case something too intentional happens. The cameras recording inside the Palace are now off and only have the remnants of the rolling credits active for viewing, as instructed by Liam. He thought that last 'stunt' with Dante jumping down the stage and almost having one of the cameras see too much of his, the band's and the crew's faces might get them into trouble…

Although Dante has always worn his makeup and disguise to make sure 'Daemon' is everything the fans and other blissful passerby or viewer could see, Liam and some other 'higher-ups' are still worried that they might recognize _him_. Their protection of him, Kat and the identities and information of the other Order members are only going to be safe as long as they make sure nothing and _no one _gets in to get _all of this _to go out in public. And it got much more challenging when Kat applied a pacifist and creative way of getting back at the demons that still clamor for control and mayhem…

_It's not a bad idea, but having this band perform is just as risky as when they would actually fight demons in the streets._

Limbo City may be slowly changing, but the people's heightened awareness of demons and other creatures that co-exist with them has created chaotic viewpoints of living with _them, _and the same goes for the demons living amongst _humans_. The demons aren't as happy after losing the leadership and territory they once manipulated and toyed with for millenniums, and these places to be taken over by humans…

Liam could never forget the time when a talk show centered around a so-called group of demon hunters; they were interviewed of their tactics, lifestyle, world-view, religion, etc.; then when they announced that they managed to snag a 'demon' that was 'prowling a red-light district' and that they were going to demonstrate their skills live on television, that was when Liam knew he had reached his boiling point. Although the 'demon' was executed live, Liam had to report his opinions on this matter and the Deputy Commissioner of the city himself backed Liam and other associates who held a similar view.

This concern eventually reached political ears and a bill is passed on banning the 'sensationalization' of activities regarding any contact with demons or other creatures on popular entertainment, with the exception for scientific, philosophic, humane or safety purposes, which of course should be handled by professionals or permitted by the police or any legit authority. Of course, people are reacting to this in many different ways and are mostly outraged. Most of their reasons stem from how their freedom of expression is suppressed and that they could not share their own experiences or 'home-grown' knowledge of hunting or killing or identifying demons; others state that the bill has loopholes and people are still getting away through the use of the internet or unseen or unrecorded instances of violence between humans and demons, clamoring for justice for those who had been killed in these battles; some people feel that they are too scrutinized when they bring up issues regarding the coexistence of the different beings living in Limbo City (and perhaps throughout the world) and speculate that the authorities are _protecting _the demons instead, which recently created a domino effect amongst the humans that demons are still in control of the world. This conspiratorial thought has created a new wave of spite on demons and hopelessness on humanity. Naturally, Limbo City's politicians, police force and other institutions have assured that their city is continually being run by their own kind and not the other way, to stop mass hysteria, panic and—a new 'trending' issue—mass suicide, the effect of nihilistic depression, losing hope and faith on humanity, and not wanting to be left behind by their loved ones.

Liam crosses his arms, still deep in thought, his eyes now staring through the shatter-proof glass window to observe the band and crew chatting and taking pictures with their fans; he, along with two more security personnel and three camera specialists and operators, is on the technical room that controls fifty percent of the stage lights, special effects and most of the cameras wired to the computers; this room is stationed on the third floor of the whole building and giving anyone who is in it a good bird's eye view of everything on the concert hall. Spotting Kat shaking hands and giggling with a fan, Liam curls his index and thumb fingers on his lower lip to pull on it, an unconscious habit he does when he is observing and anticipating any movement, or deep in thought; as he continues to look at Kat's miniscule form from below, his mind wandered on a bad thought: would these people be shaking hands with her or smiling and cheering at her hard work if they _knew_ what she is and who she works with behind all this? Would anyone of these people be this close to 'Daemon', and his band the Defiant Diamonds, if they knew what he really is and what they knew before about Dante the 'social terrorist' of Limbo city?

"Oh man, look at Daemon," one camera operator exclaimed and zooms a non-live camera closer to Dante, who was reaching his arm to someone and finally pulls the hand of a young, petite woman with bob blonde hair. "The credits are almost done," said the camera operator. "I'm putting this live…"

Liam blanches and says, "No, don't—"

But with a few clicks of the button, the same camera becomes live and records the moment: Dante manages to gently pull her towards him and he flourishes her around, like in a finale of a waltz and her dress swirls around beautifully, until he manages to wrap his arm around her while he still holds her hand. Catcalls, cheers, whistles and applause echo around the concert hall, and the fans take snapshots of the 'couple'.

Liam sighs loudly, not masking his annoyance. "That _wasn't _supposed to happen. Why did you do that?"

The camera operator near Liam opens her mouth to speak up; it was just for entertainment purposes. No one's going to take this too seriously…

"Mr. Drake, it's okay." She says to him as she swivels her chair to turn to him. "The credits are done, the endorsers' logos are on and in two seconds we're off. It's over! That was just harmless fun—"

But to her utter horror, Liam pulls out his gun and shoots the camera operator who had put the little scene below live; with two successive shots to the operator's head, the man drops to the floor lifeless and spilling blood.

The woman screams and jumps off from the chair. She manages to clutch Liam's gun and tries to take the weapon off him. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

* * *

><p>The sounds of the gun shots are not heard outside the sound-proofed technical room above, but the flash of the muzzle was briefly seen and Dante looks up. The familiar feeling of an alerting chill that suddenly shoots up his spine meant that something was wrong.<p>

* * *

><p>The camera operator that was trying to take his weapon away from his hands was still screaming and crying, but Liam's eyes are on the 'dead' body of the male operator lying on the floor. The man moves his arm and slowly pushes himself up from the floor, coughing out the two bullets that were previously stuck inside his head.<p>

The other security guards inside the room whip out their guns to point them on the demon.

"Stop!" Liam yells at her and manages to subdue her to the ground instead; another security guard assists her instead, but the female operator would not cooperate and stays on the floor instead. In a seething tone and glaring at the demon, Liam says, "He doesn't belong here."

The demon chuckles at his statement. The female operator gasps, unable to believe this is happening. She cowers and tries to stay still as much as possible in the floor as the security all point their weapons at it.

"It's actually nice 'working' like this," the demon murmurs as he lifts his bleeding head up to face them all. He smiles wickedly as a chunk of flesh strips off him to reveal his true nature. Underneath the peeling flesh is a dark mass of reddish, wrinkled skin and a third eye on its forehead peeping through the human disguise. "No wonder you've all been enslaved for too long. You're all easily fooled."

Liam's cheek twitches in annoyance. "Well I think you're a fool for being here."

Liam fires his rounds at him and the rest of the security guards follow suit. The female operator keeps herself down on the floor and covers her ears as she watches the bullets penetrate the human disguise of the demon, his body convulsing every time he is shot at. She chokes in her own tears as her 'friend' becomes similar to a target dummy.

The radio in her belt sounds on and she hears a frantic voice from the other line. "Liza, what the _hell _is going on? We can see the guards shooting up there!"

Liza pulls the radio from her belt and presses the button. Swallowing and taking a breath, she says in her shaky voice, "There's—there's a demon here! There's a demon!"

The shooting and the growl of the demon comes through to be heard to the other line.

* * *

><p>The civilians, the band and the crew are all standing still. They've heard the message.<p>

Suddenly screams from outside the concert hall reaches their ears and the civilians suddenly panic.

"Alright, everyone, keep it calm!" One bouncer says as each of the security personnel ready their tasers and guns. "No one goes out to the exits! Something is happening out there! Keep close to your friends! We will direct you to an emergency exit instead! Everyone follow me!"

The bouncers huddle the fans together and are instructed to follow two leading security guards to the backstage area, where the emergency exit is. Some of the band and crew are also told to get to safety. Dante and Kat, however, didn't follow them. Dante was about to charge outside the concert hall to get to an elevator to the third floor, and help the security personnel there; but Kat's hand stops him from going any further. "No, Dante, now's not the time."

"I can't just stand here and pretend I can't stop them," Dante whispers at Kat, who was glaring and shaking her head in disagreement. "The ones upstairs could get hurt—"

"So do other people on the restaurant and possibly outside the _Palace._" Kat answers back in a hushed tone. "You're here, you follow them and make sure they don't get hurt. I've called the commissioner. He and his team are on their way here."

"We can't rely on them on this," Dante says stubbornly. "We know these things better than anyone else."

"But we can't risk ourselves, or anyone else with us." Kat explains, her lower lip shaking from her own anger and helplessness. "Not right now. We can help them in a different way."

Dante's lips form a hard line and storms off in silence as he follows the line of civilians who are going backstage. Kat sighs heavily and rubs her forehead, then climbs up the stage to follow the others. She knows that she and Dante would have a lot to discuss later and it worries her from time to time. She is aware he feels responsible now about the welfare of other people; however, if there was anything he hasn't changed since the first time she met him, it was his recklessness. He has been training and improving himself, not only in the field of physical prowess and fighting skills, but also mentally, psychologically and emotionally training himself to be better. It is almost eerily similar to how she would see Vergil train himself…

_But Dante's different from him, and I guess he still lacks some control, especially with his feelings._

Although his previous apathy seems to have been a thing of the past, his stubborn concern and recklessness, favoring action before reason or thinking, is all natural to him, and that worries her sometimes; she's worried that if he reveals his true self in the wrong place at the wrong time, well, it will not be pretty, not just for him and the Order members, but for the people he had sworn to protect…

Just then, from the third floor on the technical room, the demon breaks away from the continuous gun fire by diving _through the shatter-proof glass windows_ to come down to the concert hall itself! The remaining civilians run for their lives, quickly going up the steps of the stage to get to the backstage to escape! Kat manages to drag a shaken civilian with her and pushes him to the backstage, but the demon—now fully-transformed, hulking red and its third eye on its forehead focused on Kat—chases them in pursuit! It retracts its long, thick claws and prepares to pounce on Kat—

"KAT!" Liam screams from the third floor room and shoots the back of the demon, _more than twenty feet away_; it reacts to the gunshot but for only a few seconds and manages to hop off from one of the front row seats of the concert hall, covering a five feet distance to reach the stage, to where Kat stood!

Amazingly, a five-pointed star emerges in front of Kat just in time to absorb the impact of the attack of the demon and it gets electrocuted briefly, before being hurled back to the row of seats! A few of the civilians and bouncers who are still around gasp at the spectacle!

Dante smirks and shrugs a shoulder in amusement, murmurs, "And you thought I was gonna be trouble."

Grey smoke curls up from its dark reddish skin as the demon falls unconscious, its mouth hanging open.

A shrill of silence envelopes the whole place for a chilling five seconds, until one of the main exit doors bursts open and in come a group of panic-stricken civilians chased by what appear to be humans with bits of their skin peeling and bleeding profusely from places of their bodies that had been bitten; they look like zombies and they are all chasing their victims in an 8-mile running speed! The screams from outside the hall—which could be coming from the adjoined fast food restaurant of _The Music Palace—_continue, combined with panicked voices, gunshots and a growing mass of hungry growls and the wet snaps of biting sounds! As quickly as everybody could, the civilians all run for safety as they followed the security to the emergency exit; a lot of shoving, pushing and frantic running are done just to make it out alive!

"Beta S.W.A.T. team, come in, this is Drake!" Liam radioes after he orders the security guards with him to go down there and annihilate everything hostile and save anyone they could find. "We have a demonic outbreak here, in _The Music Palace, _here in Fiorenza District, Limbo City. Address is Blk. 4, Southeast Street K. Beta team is advised to proceed with caution, and we have civilians here. Main priority is containment and annihilation-type C!"

A gruff voice of an older man responds to his radio. _"We copy, agent Drake. This is Commissioner Enzo Ferino. Are the Diamonds still there?"_

"Yes, Commissioner," he answers immediately. "They're still here. I'm afraid one of them is wearing a luchador mask and a trench coat just to hide his identity…"

* * *

><p>Gloria manages to pull Kat with her and they both ran to the backstage. They are met by four bouncers and their crew who are rushing out of the dressing rooms, terrified but focused on getting some of their equipment out with them. Kat, however, was whirling her head around, looking for someone.<p>

"Kat, I have an emergency gun," Gloria manages to grab Kat's most personal effects and whips out a lightweight derringer. "Come on!"

But Kat wasn't listening. "Where are Dante and Nero?"

Gloria's eyes widen. "Nero… He was—"

Gloria trails off, unable to answer Kat. An explosion of glass and crashing metal shocks the two women and one of the 'zombies' that are coming through the defensive line of security guards clamps on a head of a security guard! Its jaw widens, trying to accommodate the cranium of its prey, but decides against swallowing it whole and instead unsheathes another row of gangly but sharp teeth to bite _down _on its victim!

"HAROLD!" One of the security screams in horror as she shoots at the transforming zombie to avenge a friend, but it was no use. The creature bites off a part of the head and lunges at the next security guard while its previous prey drops in a convulsing, trembling wet slab of a dying human! One by one, each of the zombies seem to transform into an array of different fatal deformities, each with its own unique way of killing.

The two women have no choice but to run to the emergency exit, along with the others who are trying to escape—

But three zombies suddenly turn on both of them and give chase; one of them, whose mouth hangs open to let its stretched, slightly mutilated tongue loll, flap and salivate, stops to release a starving and angry roar, then leaps a good long three feet to flail itself on top of its victims!

Gloria pushes Kat away from the path and manages to turn around to point her derringer at the monster in midair! As Kat stumbles and falls to the floor, Gloria pulls the trigger three times and shoots the monster square inside its mouth! However, the monster was already too close to them and drops its body on Gloria; she falls to the ground painfully but manages to have a good grip of her small gun on her hand as the weight of the monster's corpse knocks the breath out of her!

A zombie stumbles to touch Kat but is immediately electrocuted by her own protective incantation surrounding her and trips the zombie down; she pushes herself up from the floor and reaches where Gloria manages to push away the corpse on top of her.

"You okay?" Kat asks as she extends her hand to Gloria, who accepts it.

"Yes, I'm fine—Look out!" Gloria shouts too late as a larger demonic zombie leaps towards them with baring sharp teeth and lands face first at the protective shield that Kat has; the force of the impact not only affected the reckless demon, however, as Kat stumbles down again on the floor. Gloria raises her derringer and warns the demon. "Step back!" She said fiercely.

"Yeah, step back!" said a small voice coming from a corner near the men's bathroom. Nero stomps his foot down as he continues to threaten the demon bravely. "Step back, monster! Dante will mash you!"

"Nero! No!" Kat shouts at Nero, horrified. "Don't make it angry! Just-just don't move!"

Nero slowly whips out a small water gun inside his slightly oversized jacket, points it at the demon and stands where he is boldly. "I'm not going nowhere! I'm not afraid!"

Kat stifles herself from groaning audibly in frustration; it looks like Nero shouldn't be hanging out with Dante after his tutoring classes…

The demon has turned its attention to Nero instead, snapping its head and growling, ready to pounce—

"DON'T HURT HIM!" Gloria commands, her voice eerily threatening and much louder than her usual soft-toned voice. The demon stops and paces around instead, growling impatiently while it keeps scratching the floor with its long nails.

Kat's eyes narrows and slowly turns to Gloria, her gun still pointing at the demon—

Suddenly a blur of red streak rushes in front of them from above and leaps on top of the demon, landing squarely on its head with a deafening boom. Dante's thick, militarized boots manages to crack its skull, though that only angers the demon much more!

"Get out of here, ladies, Nero," Dante says as he languidly puts more pressure on his boots and it crushes its head as if he was snuffing out a cigarette on the floor. The demon tries to escape and shake Dante off, but he stays put on the demon; he whips out Ivory, his signature gun, and shoots the demon four times in a row, but the demon still fights underneath him. This spectacle, however, excites Nero more.

"Yeah! Dante! Shoot some more, shoot!"

"Nero, come here! Don't go near that thing!" Kat warns as she gestures for Nero to go around and to follow Kat and Gloria. "Where were you? We were worried sick, do you want Aunty to be worried and scared for you?"

Nero shakes his head and begins to voice his regret. "N-no… I'm sorry."

"It's okay just, just don't go anywhere," Kat tells him and carries the child up to her arms. "Come on, let's go."

"Why is Dante wearing a weird mask?" Nero suddenly inquires out of the blue, but for good reason: Dante has disguised himself with one of the props he found inside the dressing room and threw on a luchador mask and his old favorite red-lined, black trench coat with a zipped-up hood that he had put on his head.

Kat shakes her head in amusement. "It's…his thing, you know? He likes to look…cool."

Nero smiles, seeming satisfied with her answer.

"Gloria!" Kat calls for her friend, but Gloria gives her a look that she and Nero need to leave and need not worry them anymore.

Kat nods and she runs for safety, follows one of the remaining security guards through a narrow hallway and into a set of stairs, and into the emergency exit. None of the evacuating crowd, however, has noticed that one of the 'authorized only' doors—that leads to a basement area that could go through the waterways underneath the city, and into the subway, and an older labyrinthine sewage system—had been opened. They must have assumed that the maintenance staff had escaped during the commotion.

* * *

><p>Gloria fires a few rounds together with Dante as a new horde of zombies from the restaurant appear and shuffle towards them! The security guards are already falling back and are running for the emergency exit. An explosion of thick white fog suddenly curls and spreads in the main concert hall and all the demons near its radius begin to cower and react negatively to it! A set of strong grapple wiring is suddenly fired on the topmost part of the stage's dividing wall, its hooks attaching itself on the crisscross of metal support beams; it automatically hoists an individual up and into the air, and, before landing gracefully in a tuck-and-roll on the ground, Liam activates one of his surefire, one-way weapon in his arsenal and throws what appear to be a silver ball; its shiny surface deteriorates to reveal a million white-silver particles that is only <em>very lethal <em>to demons!

"_Holy_ shit!" Dante murmurs in amazement as he feels the particles into his skin; it reacts to his in a sting, but dissolves quickly, whereas the demons and the zombies are all howling in pain as the particles turn acidic and damages their flesh! "Holy water! It's fucking _holy water_!"

The zombies perished faster than the transformed and larger demons inside the building, which are still upright and angrier than ever.

"Fire at will!" Liam orders and he pulls the trigger on his magnum, shooting the same red-skinned demon that ruined the recording earlier at the third floor!

Dante finishes off the demon underneath his boot by crushing the back of its scaly neck, breaking off the passage for its air; it convulses and slowly dies, and Dante hops off its back, and then smugly points his guns at the demons. "Let's get violent!"

He pulls the triggers on Ebony and Ivory, shooting at the demons, its loud and bright flash of the muzzles echoing as loud as the painful screams of the demons. Dante moves a little farther back, an upbeat hop on his steps, and continues his assault on the demons; he nears Gloria, who reloads her derringer with one last magazine and aims again to shoot. Dante languidly turns his head to her while he continues to shoot at the demons; he lifts his luchador mask from his face and smiles at her. "This is awesome of you, staying behind and shooting."

Gloria keeps firing, however, until she finishes her clip; only then does she speak to him when she's dry of ammunition. "I wanted to help."

Dante nods and gives her his boyish smile. "Yeah, well, that was your last clip. Sure you wanna stay behind?" He continues to shoot at the demons that are coming in even with his eyes are only on Gloria and _every shot he's done is precise!_

Gloria purses her lips and lowers her face, not wanting to let him see her blush a little. "I guess I should go… Kat and Nero and the others need me now."

"Well, you don't have to go," Dante waves his hand in a gesture to disagree, resulting with stopping to use Ebony and continues to shoot with only Ivory; like a young boy giving his first present of flowers to his crush, he flourishes Ebony to Gloria for her to use. "We can do this together."

Gloria's eyes widen at this gesture and she shakes her head. "No, this weapon—I mean, it's sort of an honor, but I think you got this covered." She blushes even more as she speaks to him and seeing her getting flustered at him widens his smile.

Liam orders his security to fall back once the room is cleared with the last injured security guard and the place seems devoid of civilians—at least until the commissioner's team gets here and they will have a _very thorough _investigation of this. _I'll make sure of it, _Liam muses irately as he reloads his gun; with his head low in a covering position, Liam approaches Dante and Gloria with an annoyed expression. "Dante, the whole place is clear of civilians and all of the personnel here. You're free to do what you want with these bastards—"

"Yeah, yeah, just a second," Dante retorts at him with a wave of his hand and glides that hand back to Gloria's arm as he shows her how to use Ebony. Being small, she is easily flanked between Dante's arms and enveloped by his figure; his face is close to her left ear while his fingers barely graze her skin.

"Okay, it's actually built for more comfort and longer distance-shooting. It's got a pretty decent recoil, but since you have experience I think you got this handjob—I mean, you'll definitely nail them." Dante instructs her as Gloria aims with the Ebony. It is heavy on her hands, her right hand cupping and supporting her left gun hand as she picks the closest target. Gloria pulls on the trigger—which is surprisingly very difficult to pull back—and manages to clip the demon with one bullet!

"Shoot it again." Dante encourages and lifts Ivory to shoot five demons simultaneously; with his finger and his skill to slightly alter his time and reflexes to slow down time, he pulls on Ivory's similar difficult trigger easier and faster, treating it like a machine gun. Gloria shoots again but gets used to the weapon, firing more rounds on two more demons. Dante looks down at her and gives her a small smile, finding her determined face adorable to him.

"We got some on the back!" Liam warns and rolls into action; he throws one round of his unique grenade and it explodes its holy contents, burning the first layer of skin off the demons. He whips out his magnum and starts shooting. "Dante! Stop flirting, more of them are transforming by the minute, _they cannot leave this place to harm more civilians!_"

Noting his frustration, Gloria halts using Ebony and hands it to Dante; he looks at her with utter disappointment. "What… You don't like it?"

"No, it's not that," Gloria begins to explain, but is cut off when a demon is going to swipe one giant claw at her! Quicker than light, Dante pulls her into his arm and out of harm's way, re-materializes Rebellion in mid-air and chops off the demon's arm, then follows it with a graceful twist then a strike into its head!

Enveloped in his arm, rapidly breathing and trying to calm herself, Gloria stares at him with shock, stuttering her words. "I-I think…I-I-I should go, I mean, I'm just on your way—Liam says that you need to do your thing, which is doing awesome stuff, or something—"

Gloria tries to wriggle herself free in his arm, but Dante shakes his head at her. "No, no, no, you're doing great and you're not in the way—"

"DANTE!" Liam screams as he lets go of his magnum—out of ammunition—and reveals his submachine gun as a last resort.

"OKAY!" Both Gloria and Dante shout in response, and point their guns at the oncoming demons on Liam's side.

"Dante!" Gloria tells him urgently while gently pulling his arm away from her, as he still possessively protects her. "You need to do this. I have to go now and help the others."

He stares down to her with concern; his firing, however, does not stop and manages to kill four demons without seeing them. "You gonna be okay?"

Gloria smiles in return and hands him Ebony. "I'll be fine." Then, with her free hand, she slowly pulls down his luchador mask back on to conceal his identity just in case.

Staring at the firearm she intends to return, he shakes his head then releases her torso. "Nah, hold on to it for a while. You might need it." With a swagger on his walk and his eyes still on Gloria, he languidly turns on his heels to face the demons Liam is having hard time on. He had already opted on using his army knife and stun rod on them as he had run out of bullets on the submachine gun.

Gripping Rebellion firmly, Dante dashes at the demon that has clamped on Liam's arms tight, performing his Stinger; the blade drives itself deep into the demon's right side and this gives Liam time to escape!

Dropping to the ground, Liam sighs exasperatedly and says, "Took you long enough."

"Hey," Dante speaks up defensively. "You only live once! _And _meet a really nice woman who really is worth it, you know?" Dante swings Rebellion in an upward arc and launches the fattest demon helplessly into the air. He points Ivory at it and shoots relentlessly; four demons prepare to lunge at him, but Dante easily and quickly maneuvers out of the way, but consequently halts his tirade of shooting at the demon in mid-air, who drops to the ground painfully. Liam follows this assault by plunging his army knife deep into its bulbous head, killing it! The two demons who wanted to prey on Dante switched their sights on Liam, but are mistaken to do so. Liam somersaults out of the way and, with his stun rod, strikes it on the neck of the first demon, then dodges down before the second demon could mar his face! He tackles the demon head-on, stunning it, then swiftly plunges his army knife into its torso!

"And do you think Gloria reciprocates your feelings?" Liam inquires out of the blue as he pulls his knife off the dying the demon.

Dante, still busy in killing three demons and another larger one, swings his Rebellion repeatedly, keeping them at bay and pushing the lot of them against the stage wall, until it collapses, the larger demon stumbling backwards and into the concert stage! With a grunt, he twists his body and roundhouse kicks a demon that was coming to his right, but leaves him open on the front; however, before another demon could take this opening, Dante stands upright immediately and grabs the demon's face with his left hand! With his strength alone, he crushes the demon's skull with his fingers!

"Yeah, I think she does!" Dante nonchalantly answers with a confident smile. "Hey, I can handle this! If the commissioner's coming, you better be there to handle the situation. I'll escape on another route."

Liam nods at this and exits the place though the emergency exit.

With the place left to his disposable, Dante grins through his luchador mask and stretches his arms, warming up. Four larger demons remain, clinging on the corners of the concert hall's walls and the stage's structure while a myriad of average-size, malformed creatures, that used to resemble 'zombies' earlier, growl at him menacingly.

"Okay, let's get the party started."

* * *

><p>Liam races down the steps of the exit hall, anxious to see his comrades and the band, the <em>Palace's <em>staff and the remaining civilians. He has not gotten word yet if the police and the commissioner has arrived, but he is aware he had contact with them just a few minutes ago, which means they could only be arriving the district. Liam, however, expects that the local district police have arrived on the scene and a few ambulances are there as well. Racing halfway to the second level, he notices one of the maintenance rooms—a door with an 'authorized only' sign on it—is wide open. Liam knows this leads to the _Palace's _piping and drainage system, which is connected to an old sewage system of the city. Its emergency lights are on, but what catches Liam's attention are the signs of dirty water that had been stepped on as a set of foot prints lead deeper into the room. From mere observance, it appears that there are two sets of foot prints on the floor…

A deep and very audible groan comes within the room, at the very far corner of it, but Liam surmises it is somewhere else, on another room. Liam takes a tentative step and turns his flashlight on, attached on his belt, but—

_"Agent Drake, this is Commissioner Ferino! We are closing in on the scene! Local units on this district have already been dispatched and half of them are ordering the civilians to evacuate the area!"_

The earpiece responds and Liam, still rooted at the spot, radios back. "How far are we evacuating?"

_"As far as O Street to the east, G street on north. About ten to fifteen blocks, estimating 8,000 civilians or more."_

Liam sighs and turns to the staircase to see the action outside the city. "Alright, I'm on my way. Dante's inside the concert hall, doing clean-up."

* * *

><p>With down to two large demons, Dante had switched Rebellion into a giant axe, Arbiter, butchering the morbidly huge hide of the slug-like demon; the other demon recuperates and scales the walls and ceilings of the concert hall, bidding its time.<p>

As Dante delivers his final blow on the slug demon by decapitating its head, the second demon—with bat-like wings and limbs, and a more humanoid appearance with its third, glowing blue eye—flings itself from the ceiling and down on Dante!

Sensing his last opponent, Dante spins around and transforms Arbiter into his long scythe, the Osiris; dexterously, Dante gracefully swings the scythe around his body and twirls the long scythe on his left side, its long curved blade slicing on the fur and flesh of the demon! However, the demon quickly recoils its body and flies backwards and out of harm's way!

"HEY!" Dante yells at it. "Get back here!" He runs up to the stairs as he chases the demon; scaling the wall, it glides to the adjacent wall, making Dante frustrated. "So that's how you want it, huh?"

Chasing it around the hall, Dante transforms his scythe into a grappling device, the Demonic Ophion, and whips the device on the demon, capturing its head! With a helpless moan, it tries to cling to the walls to avoid Dante, but with his strength, he cruelly pulls the demon off the spot it clings to and it falls towards his direction! With a thunderous fall, the demon half breaks its neck into two on the ground and squeals for mercy. Dante hovers over it before he stomps his boot on the neck to gradually pacify the demon, then plunging Rebellion into its head as a final kill.

"Sorry, no after-party for you." Dante mocks as he wills his supernatural claymore to disappear from his hand. Turning around the concert hall to see any more activity, he notices one of the cameras still recording! Mounted on a mobile crane of sorts on the west wing of the concert hall, the camera is positioned above and closer to the audience, giving the viewers a bird's eye view of the audience from the front to the middle rows of the audience.

"Well, well, giving the inside scoop, huh?" Dante mutters sarcastically. He reaches behind his pants to pull Ivory from its waistband, then points the gun directly at its lenses. "Well, show's over."

Pulling the trigger numerous times, the bullets pierce through the machine and destroys it.

With a contented but tired sigh, Dante pulls the luchador mask off his face and pushes down the large hood of his trench coat from his head to muss over his natural, platinum-blond hair. It's been a while since he could touch his _own _hair again after hiding them on several wigs or dyes. He had buzzed-cut the sides and the back of his head so any wig could easily be worn over or attached; small spikes are layered on top of his head with a short, asymmetrical fringe frame his forehead.

Returning his gun behind his pants, Dante rushes up towards the staircase and into the main doors; he runs across the empty hallway and pushes open a door to one of the personnel rooms. In here, he sees a ladder, another emergency exit towards the rooftop of the building. Climbing it to reach a platform, he rushes to the only door in front of him and, with his body weight, forcefully opens it until he is out in the openness of the rooftop. The sun sets as the clouds dim further from a red-orange to purple and the wind touches his skin. It looks peaceful on his viewpoint, but the illusion is easily shattered by the stressful sounds of gunfire, fearful screams and the growl of mindless zombies that are trying to eat its way to dominate the whole place.

He breathes slowly, calming himself as millions upon millions of the aura of the people around him flow and pulse: some flow and wave around the limitless space it has much more, pulsing in different angles much quicker, which is a sign of stress or fear; other lines of aura flow calmly. He could feel his friends' auras, even as they are being escorted safely away already, two miles away from where he stands. Liam is close and is with another familiar, older aura: Commissioner Enzo Ferino. The voices of the thoughts of these auras—all that belong to the people Dante senses—are all tangled up, like the various voices of people around a congested area. Walking to the edge of the rooftop, he sees the commissioner barking orders and firing his rifle at the onslaught of zombies still pouring out of the _Palace. _He sees Liam expertly taking down a horde on his own with his knife and handgun. However, as Dante expands his senses, he could see from the backdoor of the neighboring building from where he is two demons escaping; they morphed themselves into their human disguises and have camouflaged amongst the evacuating people.

"Now, what the hell are they doing?"

Pinpointing their aura to memory, Dante jogs back away from the edge then, with more speed, runs towards the edge of the rooftop, and then leaps away from it! Gliding roughly to the next building, Dante rolls to the ground then proceeds to run, not taking his sights from them.

* * *

><p>As the police manage to annihilate the zombies that are still littering the streets, the news teams from Limbo city and world wide record these events live; every channel on television and trending messages and images are flooded about this momentous and horrible event.<p>

_"Today, live down on Fiorenza District in Limbo City, a horrendous flood of zombie-like creatures are attacking anyone indiscriminately—"_

_"—we've been already advised to move away from the scene, and we are with the civilians right now! Apparently, the origin of this zombie attack came from the Music Palace, a famous, local concert arena. It was playing a concert from a rising, local-grown rock band called the Defiant Diamonds—_

_"—local police and the S.W.A.T. team, along with firefighters and ambulances, have verged into this location to work together—"_

_"—it is unknown yet how it all started, but the police are containing the situation and they reported an incredible dwindling number of these mutant creatures—"_

Gloria watches the television screen with wide eyes as the channels are flipped several times. She stands on an empty subway that is currently closed off for public use and the only companion she has is a Looker, a human who had become a servant for a demon as one of its spies or collaborators. The Looker has the television remote and had also managed to return some electric power for this subway after some 'convincing' from the train station's staff.

"C'mon, c'mon," he mutters to himself as he continuous to flip through the channels. "I wanna see Dante, the Great Demon Slayer! C'mon, show me!"

His croaky, deep voice echoes through the silent, empty subway as he searches for Dante, while Gloria watches the television without any interest; on her arm, she clutches what looks like cube made of wood that intricate scroll work on its dark surface.

"COME ON, HIS GIRLFRIEND'S HERE TO WATCH!" He yells irritatingly as he flips through the remaining last channels, until—

_"An online trending viral video has caught millions of viewers as the video shows a footage of what they theorize to be Limbo City's former social terrorist, Dante, inside the Music Palace, as he slays a group of demons with varying sizes! It seems he has also helped the security personnel inside the building and even tells them to evacuate—"_

"YES! THERE HE IS!" The Looker hollers joyfully and laughs maniacally as he watches the video footage. "Ha, ha, looks like they forgot to turn off the camera inside."

Gloria remains composed, but the way she closes her eyes and grips the fabric of her dress suggests otherwise.

_"Another trending Dante viral video shows him on the rooftops of Limbo City, appearing to be chasing two civilians who are evacuating, then kills them in front of the public! The footage reveals that the two civilians he's killed are actually two demons, but the reasons for these killings or his involvement on the zombie incident that is still currently happening are vague, and investigations of whether he is Dante the Terrorist or not is up for debate…"_

The Looker sighs in disappointment. "Oh boy, the thugs I hired didn't even run three blocks from the building, but hey, we managed to steal the artifact without any suspicion, so it's cool."

"They were the distraction?" Gloria asks.

"Yeah, but they're terrible," the Looker critiques, "I mean, damn, just three yards, then BAM they get killed. And I didn't get to see Dante's face, I mean, he was wearing a weird mask from the first video then he has a hoodie on the second one, I mean, what the hell, right? We don't get to see that and the public's like, 'oh no, is it Dante the Terrorist' all bullshit—"

"Let's leave, now," Gloria cuts him as she turns away from the television. She walks to the safe spot and waits for the train—the only train—to come.

The Looker shrugs his shoulders and follows her. A few seconds later, a train rumbles forward and slows to a stop; the mechanical doors open to let the two passengers in, then closes as they sit down on opposite seats, facing each other.

"So," Gloria speaks coldly. "How long will Lilith be keeping me for her next plan?"

The Looker smiles then rubs his forehead, unconsciously rubbing the third, hidden eye open. "Actually, we were thinking of something a _little more _devious."

"What do you mean?" Gloria asks, half-anxious and half-angry.

"I mean, we need Sparda to open the next one to get the Piece."

Gloria's eyes become round in horror. "You need Dante."

The Looker smiles wider. "That's right." Without warning, he shoots Gloria on her arm a small syringe. Groaning from the surprise attack, Gloria immediately pulls out the syringe on her arm, but realizes the fluid is already in her system. She stands up to get away, but the effects are already in her brain and she stumbles to the floor, unconscious. Her arms let go of the artifact she has, but Dante's gun, Ebony, also falls from her coat to the floor.

The Looker becomes interested at the weapon she had been carrying inside her coat and picks it up.

"Nice," he says then proceeds to hide it inside his coat. "More evidence, hehehe."

* * *

><p>The demon coughs up blood as it slowly dies, after being hit squarely behind by Dante's sword. It gets roughly pulled up by the scruff of its clothes and Dante interrogates it.<p>

"Why did the demons attack the concert arena? Did they know I was there? And where's your boss?"

The demon, whose human disguise resembles a middle-aged, fat man with a botched beard, smiles as he bleeds profusely. "We're the distractions. They told us that… some chick is gonna be kidnapped… we were just told to poison the food… but the restaurant connected to the concert… they had insiders already…"

"Shit…" Dante mutters as the civilians close by heard everything; they gasp and the ones with cameras and phones continue to record the spectacle. "But why?! Why the whole place when they just wanted me?"

The demons laughs. "Naïve punk! They were never after you…" His last breath leaves him, his eyes still open and his lips still frozen in its smile.

In frustration, Dante drops the body to the floor with great disregard. "Goddamnit!"

Dante turns to the crowd, who are all ogling at him, with their cameras still recording him; thankfully, he has his hoodie on his head to shadow his features and also fortunately for them, he doesn't crush people's gadgets anymore to avoid being displayed publicly.

With a flourish of his index finger, he points at one of the cameras and says: "Whatever it is you're planning, I'm gonna get you!"

Lowering down slightly, Dante slightly squats down then, with all his supernatural strength, leaps ten feet from the ground and vanishes, leaving a streak of red behind.

The civilians are rooted to the spot, still at awe and fear at what they have witnessed. Later, they are gathered by the police to an evacuation site, but the videos they've posted on various websites spread all over the internet, spreading the news that 'Dante the Terrorist' is actually 'Dante the Anti-Demon Hero'. Speculations, theories, discussions, comments, insults and various memes are shared, thrown and created; the whole media is abuzz of what had transpired! There are conspiracies that the Defiant Diamonds actually has Dante with them, perhaps even as one of the band members!

("I bet that's why ALL the band members dress up like soooo crazy, to hide their REAL IDENTITIES, lol!" "OMG, that makes TOTAL SENSE :D" "I bet Dante's the lead singer! He's so HOT!")

However, the musicians and the crew of the Defiant Diamonds deny being involved with Dante, and even the band members reveal their faces; they do not match to the features of Dante's pictures from before and on the video footage. The fans and other conspiracy-makers are not convinced still and had created a group called 'Defiant Anti_Demons!', dedicated to proving that Dante is with them and also boosting the morale of the citizens to battle demons, literally or metaphorically, adding to the band's fanbase.

As for the zombies, the police are successful for the mass killing of the outbreak and demons connected to the incident. From the investigation, the police have surmised that this was retaliation and a warning to the human populace that the demons are not to be underestimated. The city's Commissioner Ferino gave a speech the next day after the incident about the details of the investigation and advice the human populace that they should not fear the demons that still harass and threaten them, but also to be considerate to those beings who are not involved to any crimes or to the incident that happened, demon or human. Of course, the commissioner and some of the authorities who are pressed with questions only answer what the public needs to hear. Being given permission by the commissioner, Liam and his own team of investigators examined the whole building once again. Liam was very particular about the maintenance room located at the main emergency exit and was thorough at going through the room. He also ordered for all the video footage—both security _and _televised records—be examined for police work. The staffs of both _The Music Palace_ and the restaurant connected to it are going to be interviewed, as well as their security and maintenance personnel. Liam intends to leave no stone unturned.

It seems it is going well for Dante and his allies as they have managed to control the civilians and defeated their opponents, it is a hollow victory. Not only are they still blank with the motive behind the outbreak, something else gnaws deep inside Dante.

"Why is he walking around like that?" Nero asks Kat after breakfast. He had been noticing him after he had brushed his teeth and got to the dining room to see his Aunt Patty cook him his favorite waffles. Nero keeps glancing at Dante, who had only drunk coffee and ate nothing. Dante would routinely ruffle Nero's hair, to the child's delight, and even ruffle Chicken Wings' fur and talks about playing fetch later. Now, however, Dante does this albeit with less enthusiasm. He has been pacing around the main hall of the mansion, rubbing his face in frustration or throwing himself on the couch stationed at the corner of the main hall, his back facing any passerby.

Kat expresses her sympathetic look to the child. "He…well, we were doing night rounds on Fiorenza District and he's stressed. He just…" Kat could not explain the real gravity of the situation to him, to Nero. Although Nero is exposed to the truth of what _they all do, _Nero is still a child, still coping and understanding what it means to have this as an occupation, as a responsibility. "He needs to relax, Nero. Every hero needs to rest, too, right?"

Nero nods. "Like when Green Lantern needs to recharge his Bat-mobile with Kryptonite batteries."

"Pffft…" Kat suppresses a laugh and manages to say, "Yes, like that."

Aunt Patty, who is reading the newspaper, adds to her nephew. "Maybe you should ask Dante what's bugging him."

"But Pat…" Kat warns her, but Aunt Patty gestures a hand that says it is final.

"Nero, it's okay," Aunt Patty says to him kindly. "Go ask him, but be kind. Don't push him. You can ask him later again, okay? _Var en snäll pojke._" (Be a good boy.)

"Okay," the boy says obediently. "Come on Chicken Wings, let's go."

The large Chow-Chow-Samoyed hybrid barks obediently and follows Nero down the hallway towards the main hall of the mansion, where Dante is.

Kat sighs, trying to release her stress and sits down. "I couldn't tell Nero…"

Patty closes her newspaper and gazes at Kat. "I could not either, I told him yesterday that you, Dante and some of the cops are on the search for a missing person."

"So he only thinks she's missing?" Kat inquires, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"The word 'abducted' is too strong…" Patty explains sadly.

With reluctance, Nero walks to the couch slowly towards a sleeping Dante. Chicken Wings, however, happily trots to their friend; Nero halts him, grabbing the fur on his neck, saying, "No, he might get cranky…"

"Who's cranky?" Dante's sleepy voice asks, his shirtless back to them.

Nero answers hesitantly. "You?"

Unable to hold back Chicken Wings, the dog maneuvers from Nero's small fists and escapes; Chicken Wings runs towards Dante and plops his front paws on the couch, reaching to muzzle his neck and back, licking him.

Dante stirs and chuckles, and he slowly faces the two of them. "Okay, okay, I'm gonna play, I'm gonna play…"

Sitting up from the couch, Dante caresses the dog fervently, despite his tired features. Nero is still rooted to the spot, not knowing how to start a conversation.

"Hey," Dante notices him and beckons Nero to sit next to him. "What's the problem?"

Nero sits next to him and fiddles with his fingers, but looks up to him. "You didn't eat the sausages for breakfast."

Dante chuckles at this statement. "Well, I'll eat them later."

Nero looks away for a moment, then gazes at him again to speak. "Why are you here? And where's Gloria?"

Dante's eyes look down to the floor and had stopped playing with Chicken Wings' fur. He sighs first, but without choosing his words carefully, he answers: "Gloria's been kidnapped."

Nero's eyes widen in terror and he does not answer.

Dante licks his lips and heaves another sigh. "I failed. I…don't know where she is. There's no ransom note yet, but the police and Liam are looking at it really closely. We only believe she's been taken because the demon I asked before told me someone was going to be taken. And clearly, she's not here for some reason."

Nero's eyes are still locked on to him, trying not to cry. He scoots closer to Dante and plants his hand on to his arm. Dante gazes down at the child, waiting for a reply.

"We can find her, right?" Nero asks.

"Yeah, of course we will." Dante reassures him and hefts Nero up to put him on his lap to comfort the child.

Kat observes the boys from the corner, feeling the weight of their responsibility and the uncertainty of the turn of events even more.

**I am glad to have updated here, finally! Anywayz, I'm outlining the next chapters already and will be updating very, very, very soon.**

**Oh, and my collaborator's OC, Liam Drake, is here. Through her descriptions and background story, I hope to stay true to what she had envisioned since most of the story in this DmC is on me and she's like just helping me. Anyway, reviewz, commentz or constructive criticism will be widely appreciaaaated!**

**Peace!**


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